Alonso stalked him through Brooklands and Luffield, taking advantage of Vettel’s cold tyres to rush alongside out of Woodcote, the pair running side-by-side with the Ferrari on the outside line on the approach to Copse.

It would be the reigning world champion who would blink. At 293km/h Alonso held his breath and turned into the corner, leaving Vettel to make his own arrangements.

Alonso’s concise summary of his first move on Vettel.Source: Twitter

What followed was 13 laps of tense, cut and thrust racing as Alonso used every trick in the book to keep the much faster Red Bull behind.

Alonso ran Vettel right to the edge of the road several times to hold his position, taking to parking his Ferrari at the apex of corners to prevent the German from getting enough momentum to pass him.

Vettel and Alonso in close company.Source: Supplied

Both pilots were constantly on the radios to their teams bitterly complaining about the other’s conduct.

Alonso was vocal about Vettel running wide on the exit of Copse and Woodcote to gain an advantage.

“We have notified the stewards,” race engineer Andrea Stella told him as he tried to calm the Spaniard’s fraying temper. “The rules are the same for everyone and that includes the car behind you.”

Things were no less placid in the Red Bull cockpit, with Vettel fuming over Alonso leaving him no room as he tried to race two-wide with the Spaniard, while complaining that his rival was also pushing the track limits.

It seemed as though it would be Vettel who would lose his cool first. “Another one,” he would tell his crew every time the Ferrari strayed onto the wrong side of the white lines.

Alonso believed it was only a matter of time before Vettel passed him.Source: Supplied

But he regained his composure enough to launch one last bid to pass, wrong-footing Alonso just enough to get the nose of his Red Bull inside the Ferrari on the exit of Luffield on Lap 47.

Vettel’s newer tyres gave him enough grip to get alongside the Spaniard down the old main straight, the two cars just millimetres apart as they charged towards the high-speed entry to Copse.

This time it would be Alonso who would relent, giving Vettel just enough room to sneak past into fifth place.

The thrilling tussle proved costly for Vettel’s podium hopes. The 14 laps he spent couped up behind the Ferrari ended any chance he had of catching and passing Jenson Button and teammate Daniel Ricciardo for third.

Alonso would finish sixth, a tremendous drive from 16th on the grid, in addition to a five-second penalty for missing his grid spot on the start plus a litany of mechanical problems that slowed his pace.

Fernando AlonsoSource: Getty Images

WHAT THEY SAID

Fernando Alonso“I think he was reporting every time that I was going out and I have two or three warnings from the race direction. He was doing the same behind me; I was looking in the mirror and he was a little bit off track. Especially on the lap he overtook me, he was three or four times not one car but two or three cars out of the track.

“We have two seconds deficit of pace, so if we did 13 laps show to keep him behind it was welcome for the TV and for our sponsors. But after that we knew we would lose the position. He finished in front and I was very proud of my 13 laps. After he passed me, he left me by five seconds in two or three laps.

“I had an aerodynamic problem with the car, we were thinking to retire the car because we had a stall on the rear wing. They were telling me to be very, very careful in the high-speed corners because it was easy to lose the car. We had battery problems and were completely discharged for part of the race. And in the last stint also, they told me to save fuel because we were out of [our] target.”Sky Sports

Sebastian Vettel“Twice I thought it was too much into Turn 6, after the Wellington straight. I tried to move around the outside and I was slightly in front. I knew he would try everything to stay ahead, but my nose was in front. In that regard I dictate the corner radius and he has to adapt, but twice he didn’t. So I went on the brakes and went out of the corner to avoid a collision.

“When you race Fernando you know it’s tough, he doesn’t give you much room. In the end I made it through, so that was good, but it was very close.

“I got the call that I should respect track limits. I knew exactly that he was complaining in front, and then I started to do the same thing. I don’t know who won in terms of keeping the list! “Obviously for me it was easier to spot him when he went wide, rather than him seeing me. I’m not sure about the resolution of the Ferrari mirrors, but according to his complaints it must be awesome.”BBC

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Comments on this story

Mojo of LA Posted at 2:08 PM July 07, 2014

Finally some real racing.. but they need to mute the in car radio microphone, because before all you could hear was the V8 scream... now all you can hear is the sauerkraut wine!!

Andrew Posted at 12:52 PM July 07, 2014

Um Vettel you hack. mirrors dont have resolution... its not a video game mate... real life isnt in 1080p HD... the man is a disgrace to the sport.

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